Taiwan will soon sign a contract to purchase the drug molnupiravir, which its makers say significantly reduces the risk of hospitalization or death from COVID-19, Health Minister Chen Shih-chung (???) disclosed Thursday.
Chen, who heads the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), said in a legislative hearing that molnupiravir is an experimental oral antiviral drug that was developed to treat influenza and has shown to be highly effective against COVID-19.
At a news briefing later in the day, CECC spokesman Chuang Jen-hsiang (???) said the drug, which was developed by Merck & Co. in collaboration with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, will be used in Taiwan mainly to treat patients with mild to moderate COVID-19.
Patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 might even be allowed to take the medicine and quarantine at home, Chuang said, adding that the details of the procurement contract have not yet been finalized.
In a statement issued on Oct. 1, Merck said the phase 3 trial of molnupiravir showed that it reduces the risk of hospitalization and death by around 50 percent in adult COVID-19 patients.
Merck has submitted an application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for emergency use authorization (EUA) of the pill.
As Taiwan is in the process of signing a procurement deal with Merck, it will be able to obtain the antiviral drug immediately, if the FDA grants EUA in late November, as expected, Chen had said earlier.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel